About 65About 65 percent of adhoc staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC in Imo State have withdrawn their services because of insecurity.
This was disclosed by the Imo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Prof. Silvia Agu during a two-day roundtable/workshop for Imo state-based journalists organized by the International Press Centre (IPC).
She said “We are starting all over again to recruit new officials for the forthcoming election.My staff were apprehensive of the security situation in the state.
But for the November 2023 gubernatorial election in Imo State, South East Nigeria thre will be heavy deployment of military personnel as about 2,300 soldiers will be deployed for the November 11 governorship elections in state.
Agu assured on the preparedness of the commission towards the forthcoming election and revealed that the Commander of 34 Artillery Brigade, Obinze, Brigadier General Sani Suleiman had assured the commission of adequate security during the election
She also admitted that the commission had shortfalls during the Presidential, State and Federal Assembly polls earlier in the year.
“In the midst of insecurity in the state, we did our best to ensure a seemless and hitch-free election. I came to Imo state one month before the general election and I was getting myself acquainted with the political environment. The burden was too much on me.
“I will tell you without mincing words that the last election in the state was not influenced by any individual or group. The only challenge INEC had was the issue of insecurity, I said it earlier.
“You need to understand this, I have no powers of my own, as the state Resident Electoral Commissioner, to declare result of an election. It is the duty of the Collation Officers to collate results at the Collation Centres and the Returning Officers to announce results. Ours is to ascertain and entertain issues emanating from the exercise. We are also obligated to take orders from the National Headquarters where the final results are announced as in the case of Presidential election.
“So for those of you who think that the commission could be influenced to announce a result just to favour a particular candidate, that’s a wrong impression of INEC. We do not have powers to do that.”
